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Tuesday, 20 June 2017

527) Jhala Mann Singh (Jhala Manna): The martyr of the famous Battle of Haldighati (1576): A Commemorative Stamp issued by India Post on 18.06.2017:

527)
Jhala Mann Singh (Jhala Manna): The martyr of the famous Battle of Haldighati
(1576): A Commemorative Stamp issued by India Post on 18.06.2017:

About
Jhala Mann Singh (Jhala Manna):

He was one of the Mewar
nobles of the Rajput clan of Bari Sadri, a “jagir” (estate) which was given to
his predecessors Sarvashri Ajja and Sajja by Maharaja Rajmal.

The Jhalas of Bari Sadri
retained their honour by standing shoulder to shoulder with their Kings
whenever the need arose.

Jhala Mann Singh took part
in Maharana Pratap Singh’s War Council at Gogunda (in 1576) prior to the
legendary Battle of Haldighati.

During
the Battle of Haldighati:

When a badly wounded
Maharana Pratap and his equally wounded horse Chetak were attacking “Saleem” (a
son of the Mughal King Akbar and later King Jahangir), an enormous force of
Mughal cavalry and infantry surrounded the Maharana and began attacking him
from all sides.

Jhala Mann Singh
immediately came to his side, took away the Maharana’s Royal Insignia and
Headgear and donning it himself, requested Maharana Pratap to immediately leave
the battle-field and have his wounds attended to.

The ruse worked as the
enemy soldiers, thinking that Jhala Mann Singh was Marana Pratap immediately
surrounded and attacked him, while Maharana Pratap left the battle-field.

Jhala Manna put up a
fierce fight and was martyred in the uneven fight, but not before he had forced
the Mughal Army to back off the East of the battle-field.

Because of his supreme
sacrifice, Maharana Pratap lived and continued to fight on against the Mughals
and their allies and eventually liberated all of Mewar except Chittor.

Jhala
Mann Singh’s legacy:

He is remembered for the
ultimate sacrifice he made for his King and the bravery with which he fought,
even though his troops were vastly outnumbered.

He is also remembered as
someone who had his wits about him during a crisis situation and showed an
exemplary presence of mind even while surrounded by his enemies and fighting
for his life.

He is a shining example of
bravery, loyalty, valour and sacrifice.

His descendants in Udaipur
still proudly carry the emblem of Mewar as their Coat of Arms.

A
Commemorative Stamp issued on Jhala Mann Singh by India Post on 18.06.2017:

The First Day Cover (FDC)
issued on the occasion of release of the stamp

The FDC shows on the left
bottom Jhala Manna or Jhala Mann Singh surveying the Battlefield of Haldighati
astride his warhorse.

On the top right is
affixed a 500 Paise or Rs.5/- stamp which his profile facing left. The
Cancellation Hand-stamp is of New Delhi GPO and bears his name in the centre.
The Cancellation date is “18.06.2017”.

(The following description of the Battle of Haldighat has been excerpted from a post written by me titled "Inspirations from India History: The legend of Maharana Pratap of Mewar" I have visited the Haldighati Pass twice and seen the legendary battlefield trying to recreate the course of the Battle some 4.5 centuries ago. The site of the legendary battle now only bears memorials, trees and flowers. The link to my post is as follows: Inspirations from Indian History: The legend of Maharana Pratap of Mewar)

The Haldighati Pass:

The
Pass nestled in the Aravalli mountain ranges of the Indian state of Rajasthan
is situated about 40 kilometres from the city of Udaipur. The pass is so named
because of its “turmeric – coloured” yellow soil (Turmeric is called “Haldi” in
Hindi).

I remember that the first time I went to see this historic Pass was in
1970 when I went along with my Parents and my sister was only when I was about
12 years old, when my father had been invited as a Guest Professor in the
Medical College at Udaipur.

I remember that I took several pictures with my
black and white Agfa Click III camera, because I had always been fascinated by
stories of the historic battle fought between the Mughal forces under Man Singh
a Rajput General serving under Akbar, the Mughal Emperor of New Delhi and the
Rajputs under the command of Maharana Pratap of Mewar, in 1576.

One of the pictures taken by me in 1970, showing the beginning of the Haldighati Pass from one end.

We had also
brought back a packet of the turmeric coloured soil which I had in my
possession for several years.

Much
later, in 2007, my wife and I, during a trip of Jaipur, Udaipur, Chittor and
Ajmer, together with our friends Dennis and Maggie visited the Haldighati Pass and
the plain field “Rakt Talai”. As we stood on the historic battle-field, my
imagination ran riot and I imagined how fiercely the battle was fought over four
centuries ago.

Driving Through the long Haldighati Pass - present day:

The Pass is long and can be defended by a small Army, because a large Army cannot pass through it in a body

The battle fought between
the Mughals and the Rajputs at the Haldighati Pass and the plain field later
called “Rakt Talai”:

This
legendary battle took place on 21st June 1576 (some calculations
place the date as 18th June 1576) .The Mughal forces, (numerically placed
at about 80000 - 20,000 cavalry, 60,000 infantry which included 4,000 Kachwaha Rajputs, 500 elephants and 150 pieces of artillery) were about 13.50 times the size of the Rajput forces (numbering
about 6000 soldiers - 3000 cavalry, 2,000 infantry, 100 elephants, 100 spearmen and about 400 "Bhils" Tribals) made a foray through the narrow pass and were beaten back
several times by the Rajputs who were skilled in Guerrilla warfare techniques.

The Rajputs, fought on hard with their initial advantage pushing back the
Mughals from their main camp at Badshah Bagh (Royal Garden) to the open plains
of Rakt Talai (In Hindi, meaning “the Pond/Lake of Blood”) so named after the initial
slaughter wreaked on the Mughals by the Rajput forces and, later, the hard
fought pitched battle with losses on both sides on this ground. Accustomed to
open plains warfare, the Mughals, fought back hard, taking advantage of their
numerical superiority and their cannon, nevertheless, the outcome of the battle
remained indecisive, with the moral advantage going to the Rajputs.

Maharana
on his well-trained Kathiawari breed warhorse known in History as
“Chetak” personally
slaughtered several enemy combatants. Because of Chetak’s Kathiawari
Breed,
Rana Pratap was also called the “Rider of the Blue Horse”.

At one time
he threw a
spear at Man Singh the enemy commander who ducked in mortal fear in his
seat on
the elephant carrying him, instead the “Mahout” (Elephant Trainer) was
killed
instantly. Chetak was severely injured in this encounter in one of his
hind legs; nevertheless,
he helped an injured Maharana Pratap who was falling unconscious from 3
serious
wounds (one each from sword, spear and musket shot), to make a strategic
getaway with a
small troop, when one of his generals, Jhala Manna or Jhala Maan Singh
of Bari Sadri, firmly
asked him to leave the battle field, because both he and his horse were
severely injured and
needed immediate medical attention. The Jhala chief literally snatched
away Maharana
Pratap’s Royal insignia drawing the Mughal forces towards himself,
fought
valiantly, driving back the Mughals and slaughtering several opponents .
Outnumbered and fighting valiantly to the very end, he passed
into history as a Martyr.

The
injured Chetak, severely exhausted, ran through the mountains carrying Maharana
Pratap, jumped a stream, and only after safe ground was reached, the brave
horse breathed his last.

Some Memorials at Rakt
Talai and nearby areas:

Several
memorials exist at Rakt Talai as well as nearby areas commemorating the valour
of the Rajput Forces, and are a powerful reminder of the small force of Rajputs
who took on the might of the Mughal Empire and left an indelible stamp of their
bravery on history. It is interesting to note that although the battle-field
was left in the possession of the Mughals, no memorials exist on this
battle-field of any Mughal soldiers erected by the Mughal King, such was the state
of mind of the Mughal forces, including the fact that a small troop under
Maharana Pratap had caused considerable losses to their Army in the battle of
Haldighati.

The
memorial to the valour of Jhala Maan Singh. The “Maana Talaab” also is a
reminder to his bravery.

A
memorial to the Ram Shah Tanwar of Gwalior and his three sons who fell fighting
bravely during the battle. Ram Shah was an uncle to Maharana Pratap and had
come to stay in Mewar after losing Gwalior to the Mughals. He along with his
300 men and 3 sons were martyred at the battle of Haldighati. Only one son did
not participate in the battle, so as to look after the family.

The
memorial stone and tomb of Chetak reminding visitors of the loyalty to his
master of this valiant horse who despite being fatally wounded in battle, died
only after bringing Maharana Pratap to safe territory. This memorial was built
by Maharana Pratap himself.

A
poem has been also, written by Shyam Narayan Pandey, titled “Chetak ki Veerta” (Chetak’s
bravery/Valour), which is a tribute to the valiant manner in which Chetak
conducted his Master across the battle-field. I remember that when I was
studying in La Martiniere College Lucknow, I knew this poem by heart and was
awarded full marks in poetry recitation in my class in 1972.

A
miniature sheet of stamps brought out by the P & T Department,
India, showing the Breeds of various Horses in India, including the
"Kathiawari Breed" to which Chetak belonged.

About Me

I am Rajeev Prasad, a retired State Bank of India officer who had been collecting coins in a shoe box without having a serious interest. Only after quitting my job I got the time to take serious interest in developing my coin collection into a hobby. A pity, because I would have had more opportunity to lay my hands on more 'exclusive coins' while in the Bank. Anyway, as they say,better late than never. If you have any views to share with me regarding this blog , please contact me on my email rajeevprasad1208@gmail.com. I also have a twitter account @prasad_rajeev.
I had an opportunity to participate in a Documentary on the life and times of the 25 paise coin titled “Chal Basi Chavanni” (The four anna/twenty five paise coin passes away), aired by STAR NEWS on 29th and 30th June 2011. The programme helped in making many persons hold back onto their “chavannis”, the little round beauties, instead of returning them to Banks .